North, South, East and West: Hoenn Saga
by ShadesofChaos40
Summary: One of four fics in the North, South, East and West saga. Join Richard and his companions as they journey through the Hoenn region together in search of badges, contest ribbons and who-knows-what else.
1. Embarkation

North, South, East and West: North – Hoenn: Of Ground and Water

North, South, East and West: North – Hoenn: Of Ground and Water

* * *

Hi all and welcome to one of four stories that make up this arc of the NSEW saga. This story follows directly on from the Original North, South, East and West which can be found in my author profile. So please go and read that first otherwise these first few chapters may not make much sense. Also, please note that this story will only follow Richard on his journey through Hoenn. If you want to follow Chris, Amy or Rebecca, please go to their own stories which will be up on my userpage soon. Thanks and enjoy.

Special Note: I am still accepting applications for Original Trainers. There are currently 6 slots available (1 with Richard, 2 with Chris, 2 with Amy and 1 with Rebecca) and the only restrictions on any submissions I get are thus.

If your Trainer has one of the official starter Pokemon on their team you can now only pick from Charmander, Squirtle, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Mudkip or Chimchar. If you intend to make a full team without any of these Pokemon then please ignore this note.

No Legendaries. I'll just ignore you if you put any legendaries in your team.

If your character is not picked please specify if you don't mind your character being a travelling partner for Chris, Amy or Rebecca. Once all travelling partner positions have been filled any other Trainer submissions are likely only to appear as brief cameos. Sorry.

* * *

Disclaimer: Pokemon and all related Characters are the legal property of Nintendo and Game Freak, not me. I own Richard, Chris, Rebecca and Amy. That's all. Also Jeffrey is the legal property of Blake-Wilson and has been submitted by said user.

* * *

Chapter 1: Embarkation.

Richard inhaled the invigorating sea breeze as he stood on the dock watching the waves. He was currently in the seaside town of Gateon Port (little XD reference for you) and was waiting for the ferry to come in which would hopefully take him over to Hoenn where he could begin his journey. Richard had rarely been outside of his home city and as a result was quite literally staggered by the sheer weight of people and Pokemon that crowded the streets of the resort town. Richard had decided to keep Zubat in his Pokeball for this short leg of the trip in order to avoid any enthusiastic rookie trainers challenging him to a battle.

Even the piers, which Richard had thought would have been fairly deserted, were still full of people. A fisherman had set up his gear a few metres from Richard and was sleeping underneath his hat as his Huntail took great pleasure in scaring the local fish Pokemon. Richard suppressed a chuckle as he realised that the man probably wouldn't be catching much today. With a sigh, Richard sat down on the edge of the pier and pulled out a thoroughly creased tourist information brochure from his jeans pocket. He opened it and flipped to the back page where the ferry timetables were listed. He ran a finger down the entries before checking his watch. The ferry was due in about ten minutes. Richard grinned to himself and put the brochure back in his pocket, lay down on his back and tried to catch a few minutes of sleep.

Richard had only been asleep for three minutes when he was rudely awakened by something very heavy running across his stomach. Gasping for breath, Richard sat up clutching his stomach in pain as the mysterious trampler rammed into his back sending him flying forwards. With a snarl, Richard got to his feet and turned to face his attacker. To his surprise, the mysterious assailant turned out to be a Phanpy. The tiny Pokemon smiled up at Richard and blew a single note from it's trunk. Richard's previously thunderous expression softened and he knelt down to the elephant Pokemon's level.

"Hey there. What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked, reaching out a hand. The Phanpy butted into it vigorously and Richard thought he heard a bone break. The Phanpy trumpeted again and began running in circles around the boy. Richard sucked on his hand as he watched the little elephant fall over in its self-inflicted dizziness. No ground Pokemon would naturally come near to this much water so there must be a Trainer nearby. Glancing at his watch, Richard decided that he had just about enough time to take the Phanpy to the Pokemon Centre before the ferry came. Reaching down, Richard grabbed the Phanpy around the middle and picked it up. Or at least tried to.

"Geez, you're heavy!" Richard gasped setting the Phanpy down again. The Phanpy just trumpeted again and smiled. With no other alternative, Richard tried just walking away down the pier and was relieved when the Phanpy stood up and began following him.

Worming his way through the crowd, Richard soon found himself in the Pokemon centre. The Pokemon centre was an expansive building with two floors. On the left of the glass doors was the reception counter and check-in desk. A communal area with a wall-mounted television took up most of the rest of the first floor and multiple green sofas were arranged in front. A large pair of double doors in the back of the room indicated the entrance to the cafeteria and a large spiral staircase was situated next to the doors. Richard stepped through the motion sensitive front doors and held them in place while Phanpy trotted through after him. Once the blue Pokemon was safely inside, Richard walked over to the receptionist desk and glanced at the Phanpy which had somehow managed to discretely pluck Zubat's Pokeball off his belt and was happily banging it against the floor with it's trunk. On one of the many bashes, the button on the front of the Pokeball was activated and Zubat found himself face-planting into the linoleum. With a screech of rage, Zubat turned to the Phanpy which was still bashing the now empty Pokeball on the floor.

"_What the hell are you doing?"_ Zubat screamed, trying to rub its injured face and stay aloft at the same time. The Phanpy looked up from its destruction and seemed to notice the irate Zubat for the first time. The little Pokemon's face broke into a massive grin.

"_Friend!"_ It cheered. And before Zubat could act, the little Pokemon had rushed forward, grabbed Zubat around the middle and began bashing _him_ against the floor. It was at this point that Richard ran forwards with a cry and tried to untangle the stricken bat from Phanpy's trunk and also tried to prevent the bat from exacting a particularly violent revenge upon the young Pokemon. The Nurse Joy who had arrived from the back room in response to the commotion looked down at the baby elephant and her face brightened.

"Oh, thank goodness. We'd been turning this entire building upside-down looking for that little one." The nurse turned her head and called towards a table at which two girls were sitting. The first one was drinking coffee from a mug and trying to comfort the second who was younger and was crying into a handkerchief with Clefairy embroidered on the corner. At the nurse's shout the two girls looked up. The younger girl saw Phanpy, gave a squeal of delight and rushed towards the Pokemon, grabbing it in a bear hug around the middle. The little elephant returned the hug by wrapping its trunk around the girl's head. The older girl walked towards the group with a much calmer demeanour and extended a hand towards Richard who risked removing a hand from the still enraged Zubat in order to return the handshake.

"Hi. Are you the one who found Phanpy?" The girl asked. Richard smiled and nodded.

"I guess so. I'm Richard and this is Zubat." He indicated the struggling bat who was still yelling incoherent profanities at the elephant which was still hugging its trainer. The girl nodded.

"I'm Sarah and that," she indicated the girl who was hugging the Phanpy, "is Amanda. Thanks for finding Phanpy, you have no idea how much hell I would have gone through if we hadn't found the thing." Richard rolled his eyes and followed the two back to their table with Zubat now calmer and perching on the boy's head. Sarah finished off her coffee and sat back with her hands behind her head.

"So, what brings you to Gateon Port? Shopping or the social life?" She smiled and indicated for Richard to relax. Richard smiled warmly and sagged in his seat. Sarah was at least twenty and a good two years older than Richard which was making the younger trainer tense.

"Neither. I'm just about to catch the…" Richard's voice trailed off as his eyes flicked up to clock on the wall. It was styled in the shape of a Mr. Mime and the hands were indicating that it was half past three. Richard had missed the ferry by at least ten minutes. Richard grimaced before smiling ironically and shrugging. "I was going to catch the ferry to Hoenn. I just got my trainer licence and I was going to start my journey today. Looks like I'll be starting it tomorrow instead now." The boy sighed and laid his head on the table almost dislodging Zubat. Sarah smiled and stood up.

"Not necessarily. Follow me." Richard stood up and followed the girl out of the Pokemon centre, a bemused expression on his face. Outside, in the Pokemon centre's garden, Sarah turned back to him.

"You were going to go to Lilycove and just trek backwards to Littleroot Town?" She asked taking a Pokeball off her belt and enlarging it. Richard shrugged again.

"Sure. Why not?" he responded returning Zubat from his head. Sarah sighed and shook her head.

"Listen. No offence kid, but it's a long way from Lilycove to Littleroot on foot. Through a lot of rough terrain with wild Pokemon. With only a Zubat as a partner?" she raised an eyebrow and Richard sagged.

"Ok. Fine, but I didn't really have much of an alternative." He complained putting his hands on his hips and looking about five years old in the process.

"Well, now you do." Sarah grinned as she threw the Pokeball forwards. "Let's Go! Tropius!" The glow reformed into a colossal Pokemon. It was at least ten metres tall and leaned down with it's prehensile neck in order to rub against Sarah's head. The girl laughed at the action and gently batted the head away. Once the Tropius had stopped being affectionate, Sarah climbed onto its back where she nestled among the leaf-like wings, or the wing-like leaves, Richard couldn't decide which. She turned around and gestured to Richard who was staring at the majesty of the giant Pokemon. She rolled her eyes and held out a hand.

"Come on, are you going to stand there all day or do you want to get your journey started?" This spurred Richard into action and he scrambled up the rough hide of the Tropius. At Sarah' behest, he wrapped his arms around her stomach and, with a cry, Tropius flapped its great wings once, raising a cloud of dust before shooting into the sky.

* * *

The flight from Gateon Port to Littleroot Town took just over an hour under Tropius power. Before too long, the Pokemon with the two trainers on its back glided down through the cloud layer and Richard could see Littleroot Town coming up underneath him. As the Pokemon descended, Richard could see a number of young children come rushing out of their houses to marvel at the giant Pokemon.

Once Tropius had landed, Richard clambered unsteadily off. Sarah didn't disembark. She just turned and regarded Richard.

"O.k. I'm going to head back now. You can take care of yourself from here?" she asked. Richard nodded in response. Sarah smiled and dug her heels into Tropius' flank. With another great cry, Tropius took off once more and soon both Pokemon and rider were lost in the clouds. With the main attraction gone, the small crowd that had assembled around Tropius dispersed back into their usual routines, except for one.

The boy who remained was about seventeen, the same age as Richard. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a Pokeball on the front and faded jeans. He was wearing faded trainers and the laces could be seen underneath the frayed ends of his jeans. His hair was obviously dyed as no one Richard knew of had hair that was bright yellow, that and the fact that the yellow dye faded at the tip of each gelled spike to reveal the boy's natural black hair. A black headband held the hair out of his eyes and he was clapping slowly.

"Impressive entrance." He grinned gesturing to the clouds where Tropius had disappeared. "That was your sister?" he asked. Richard laughed.

"No, just a friend. Why? You find her attractive?" he asked. The boy laughed in response and shook his head.

"Not really. Anyway, enough about her. You here to get a starter from professor Birch?" Richard nodded and the boy pointed to Zubat's Pokeball on Richard's belt. "You already have a Pokemon though." Richard shrugged.

"Yeah special case." The boy nodded in understanding and then pointed to his own chest with a thumb.

"I'm starting out too. Decided to wait until I was old enough to know something about the basics before I started out." Richard nodded. He could empathize.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Richard." Richard said holding out a hand. The boy looked at it for a moment before taking it and shaking it.

"I'm Jeffrey."

* * *

So there you go. Chapter One is completed. Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, why not drop me a review? Don't forget to submit an original trainer for me to use if you want. Thanks for your support.


	2. Beginnings

* * *

North, South, East and West: North – Hoenn: Of Ground and Water

* * *

First things first. I must make a thousand apologies for such a late update. Put it down to a combination of laziness, summer holidays, work and Brawl. However, this story is not yet abandoned and hopefully will not be. So after the fawning grovelling is done, please enjoy the story.

Also note that trainer submissions are still open. Feel free to combine Pokemon from any region together to make a team but stick to region specific starters and no legendaries. Also specify whether your trainer is taking the gym challenge or the contest circuit.

* * *

Disclaimer: All Pokemon and related official characters are owned by Nintendo. I own Richard and Jeffrey is owned by Blake Wilson

* * *

Chapter 2: Beginnings

Once Jeffrey and Richard had finished shaking hands, Jeffrey turned and strode through the double doors into Professor Birch's laboratory, with no reason to tarry, Richard followed through quickly before the doors had a chance to close on him.

Inside, the entirety of the inside of the lab was a pristine white. The walls and floor gleamed with the shine and Richard felt obligated to turn round and make sure that he wasn't tracking mud into the room. The main entrance hall was one giant room almost thirty feet long. Large halogen lamps hung from steel cables in the ceiling and assistants decked out in white lab coats ran from cubicle to cubicle. Many of them were holding clipboards and all of them looked to be in a hurry. Richard caught up to Jeffrey who was standing in the centre of the room looking lost as to where to go.

"Where do you think the professor is?" Jeffrey asked. Richard shrugged and was about to answer when an aide walked up to them. He pushed his black hair out of his eyes and pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"And you are?" he asked.

"We're here to collect our starter Pokemon from Professor Birch." Said Richard pulling out his Pokedex and presenting it to the aide. Behind him Jeffrey pulled out his Pokedex as well and held it out. The aide snatched them both in one sweep of his hand and gave the machines a cursory glance. Not finding anything wrong with them, he handed them back to the boys, turned on his heel and walked off. Sharing a quick confused glance the boys hurried after him.

"You two are in luck." The aide said as the two followed him through a maze of corridors. "The professor often goes out for days at a time in order to study Pokemon in the wild. You just caught him before he left again." The aide reached a door in the corridor that was seemingly indistinguishable from its neighbours and rapped on it three times quickly.

"Come in!" A voice on the other side yelled. The aide pushed the door open with one hand and gestured for the boys to enter. Then he turned and hurried away into an adjoining corridor. They did so and found themselves standing in a smart office. A man in a lab coat and a pair of shorts was stooped over a backpack. As the door behind them clicked shut, the man straightened up, his back clicking as he did so and the two found themselves looking into the amiable face of Professor Birch.

The professor was about 40 years old. He was fat, but not obscenely so and he had a small goatee. He smiled at the boys although his eyes suggested he wasn't quite sure who they were.

"I'm Richard." Richard said, holding out the piece of paper that Professor Redwood had given him. Birch took it and unfolded it. His face broke into an even wider grin as he read it.

"Ah, you're one of Redwood's students. How is the old fellow?" Birch asked screwing up the slip and throwing it into a waste basket.

"You know the professor?" Richard asked confused. Redwood had mentioned Professor Birch before, but only as an authority on Hoenn Pokemon, never as a personal acquaintance.

"Of course. Redwood is a Pokemon professor as well. If I recall correctly, he's always the one who drinks a bit too much wine at the yearly reunion." Richard grinned as Jeffrey stepped forward. Birch saw him and smiled.

"And you must be Jeffrey Townsend yes?" Birch asked. Jeffrey nodded. "Yes, I was told you might be coming." With that, the professor walked over to a bookcase on one wall and lifted down a metal case by its handle. He set it on his desk and undid the catches. Three Pokeballs nestled inside.

"As nice as these introductions have been," the professor said, gesturing to the case. "I'm guessing that these are the reasons that you two are here." The two boys tried to appear uninterested in the Pokeballs but failed and eyed them excitedly. The professor laughed at their attempts to conceal their anticipation.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to say it, but my supplies of these Pokemon are a bit low. That's why I'm about to leave on another journey to visit my supplier. But until I get back I only have one of each. One Treecko, one Torchic and one Mudkip. Pick wisely."

"Which one do you want?" Richard asked Jeffrey.

"Depends on which one you want." Jeffrey replied gesturing to the box. "You go first."

"No. I'm cool with any of them, you pick first." Richard replied. This vein of conversation would have continued for some time if Professor Birch hadn't stepped in.

"Boys, as pleased as it makes me to see that chivalry is not quite dead in our modern world, if you two insist on being polite, I'm going to end up being very late so I'm going to make a proposition. I'm going to count to three. When I say three, both of you say which Pokemon you want most. If you both say the same we might have a problem but that's a chance I'm willing to take. One. Two Three."

Richard said "Treecko" at the exact time that Jeffrey said "Torchic". Birch's face broke into an even bigger grin.

"Wonderful." He reached into the case and pulled out two Pokeballs. He handed one to Richard and the other to Jeffrey. Richard pushed the button on the front of the ball and allowed the glowing mass of energy to solidify into the green gecko Pokemon. The small lizard crossed it's arms and stared up at the boy in front of it.

"_S'up?" _It said in a nonchalant tone of voice. Richard bent down to its level and rested a hand on the floor. Treecko quickly got the point and scampered up the arm in order to curl up on Richard's shoulder. Richard discretely plucked Zubat's Pokeball off his belt and released the bat Pokemon. The blue bat swerved in midair in order to regard the new arrival with only the slightest air of disdain.

"Zubat, Treecko. Treecko, Zubat." Richard introduced the two to each other.

"_Hey._" Treecko grinned extending a hand to the bat.

"_I guess it was inevitable having team mates eventually." _Zubat sighed, _"You'd better hope for your sake that we get along."_ With that, Zubat landed gracefully on Richard's head, folded his wings around himself and began making fake snoring noises. Treecko rolled his eyes.

"_Who put the rod up his butt?" _he asked Richard who merely shook his head. Richard turned to Jeffrey who had yet to release Torchic from its Pokeball.

"Aren't you going to let him out?" Richard asked Jeffrey. Jeffrey shook his head.

"I'll introduce myself when I get home. I've got another Pokemon waiting for me there." The two walked out of Professor Birch's office in order to allow the Professor to finish his packing. Once outside of the lab in the natural light (they had waylaid another aide in order to renavigate the maze of corridors as both of them had forgotten the way in.) Richard turned to Jeffrey.

"So. What's next for you?" He asked.

"I've got to go home first and show Torchic to my parents. We live in Petalburg city. Then I guess I'm going to head to Verdanturf town. There's a contest hall there and I figure that it'll be a pretty good starting place."

"You're going to challenge the contest circuit?" Richard asked. Jeffrey nodded.

"Of course. There's nothing wrong with taking the gym challenge but I just feel that there's more to a Pokemon's potential that just battling. But where are you going now?" Richard shrugged.

"I'm heading to Petalburg too I guess. Contests sound fun and all, but I'm more interested in Gym Battles. There's a gym there isn't there?"

"Sure." Jeffrey said "But you've got no chance against Norman with just a Zubat and a Treecko. You really have no idea about this region do you?" Richard grinned sheepishly and shook his head. Jeffrey sighed and frowned, but then his face brightened.

"Tell you what, why don't we travel together?" He asked. Richard's eyes widened.

"You're serious? You don't even know me." he asked. Jeffrey nodded.

"Sure. It can get pretty lonely on the road without a travelling buddy. Besides, you seem like a nice guy. Face it. You could use the help of someone who knows this region, and I could use some extra company and protection on the road."

"Protection?" Richard asked raising an eyebrow, "from who? Team Rocket?"

"No." Jeffrey said "both Team Aqua and Magma disbanded years ago but you always get a few idiots who think that using stolen Pokemon is an easier way to make money than working an honest living like the rest of us. So what do you say?"

"I'd like the company sure. And the inside knowledge of Hoenn would be useful" Richard smiled. "But you don't know me. Are you sure you want to travel with me?"

"Sure." Jeffrey grinned, "Like I said, I'm pretty good at reading people. You seem nice. Anyway, if you turn out to be a jerk I can just leave you." He laughed brightly and held out a hand. "So?"

Richard hesitated for a moment before taking the hand and shaking it. "Ok, why not? Besides, I can always abandon you if _you_ turn out to be the jerk."

Jeffrey laughed. "Fine by me. You know. This may be the start of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

And that brings Chapter 2 to a close, don't forget to R+R as that will speed up the creative process for new chapters. Also don't forget to submit any Original Trainers. After all, Professor Birch still has a spare Mudkip.


	3. On the dusty road

North, South, East and West: North – Hoenn: Of Ground and Water

* * *

Ok, without further ado, I present to you a (possibly) eagerly awaited Chapter 3.

Also, a quick note to inform any who are interested that I am still accepting OT submissions. Please refer to the previous chapter for guidelines.

* * *

Disclaimer: All Pokemon and related official characters are owned by Nintendo. I own Richard and Jeffrey is owned by Blake Wilson.

* * *

Chapter 3: Along the Dusty Road

"How far is it to Petalburg anyway?" Richard asked wiping the sweat out of his face with one hand and snapping a small twig off of a tree with the other. He passed the twig to Treecko who was still sitting on his shoulder. The small Pokemon examined the twig in every detail before frowning in disapproval and throwing it over his shoulder to land in the leaf litter.

The two companions were walking along the only dirt track that led out of Littleroot town. Constant use had worn a bare path in the undergrowth that the boys were walking along. However, low-lying shrubs were abundant on either side of the path and their thorny branches kept snagging Richard's trousers. Also, the trees overhead had grown to an extraordinary height and their crowns bent over the path, subjecting the two travellers to a muggy and humid shade.

"We should make it to Oldale Town by nightfall." Jeffrey replied over his shoulder. He was also sweating profusely but his headband kept all of the sweat out of his eyes. "We can spend the night in the Pokemon centre there and we'll move on to Petalburg tomorrow. It's pretty much another day's walk from Oldale to Petalburg anyway."

Richard sighed and snapped another twig off a tree and handed it to Treecko. This like its predecessor was examined minutely before being discarded.

"What's the big deal about this twig anyway?" Richard asked Treecko, who had now clambered on top of Richard's head and was swiping at low hanging branches himself. "Do you have to have one?"

"_Of course I do."_ Treecko replied looking insulted. "_It's a symbol of Treecko authority. A Treecko needs a twig, otherwise he's not a real Treecko."_

"You've done fine without a twig up until now." Richard pointed out.

"_That's because I haven't had a chance to find a good one yet."_ Treecko responded. "_I've spent the entirety of my life up until this point in one laboratory or another. I'm just making up for lost time."_ Richard nodded and stooped in order to pick up another twig. This one was thin and long. It had a small leaf growing on the very tip making it look somewhat like a _very_ organic cigarette. Richard passed this one to Treecko who again examined it. This time the green gecko gave a small smile and inserted the twig into his mouth.

"_Good enough."_

The trio walked in silence for another quarter of an hour before Jeffrey turned back to Richard.

"Say. Where's your Zubat?" he asked. Richard hadn't returned the bat to his Pokeball since releasing him in Birch's lab and the small creature had taken flight into the trees surrounding the path soon after entering the wooded area. Richard shrugged.

"No idea. He won't have gone far though. He still doesn't like bright light that much. He's probably just hunting for bugs." In fact, almost as soon as Richard had said this, a large thud to his right made him turn.

Zubat had just crashed into a tree. This was most likely because he was flying both backwards and low to the ground. He was doing this because he had been hunting for bugs. But the bug in question was not Zubat's usual prey of damselflies or ants. Rather, the victim of this hunting foray was a Wurmple.

The Wurmple was almost as large as Zubat himself was and, due to the bat's small size, his fangs hadn't actually killed the Bug Pokemon and it was desperately trying to wriggle free of his grasp while constantly screaming and yelling incoherent profanities. Thus the bat was trying to drag his catch back to the group so that they would help him finish it off.

"_Look."_ Zubat said. The words were slightly muffled on account of the fact that he had a mouth full of Wurmple. "_Just stop struggling and it'll all be over quickly. You won't feel a thing."_ The Wurmple's response to this was

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH! Lemmego! Lemmego you crazy sonofaNoctowl!" _Zubat sighed in exasperation and continued dragging the flailing worm backwards. He stopped dragging when he bumped into Richard's leg. The bat turned slowly in order to look up into the disapproving face of his trainer.

"_Ah. There you are."_ Zubat said, weaving slightly in the air due to the Wurmple's frantic thrashings. "_Help me finish this thing off will you? He won't stop wiggling."_ Richard bent down and picked Zubat up with one hand and the Wurmple with the other.

"Maybe this one's a bit too big for you to eat." He said setting the Wurmple down on a branch. The Bug Pokemon scurried away as fast as it could go, still screaming as it ran. Zubat scowled briefly before relaxing and shrugging.

"_Maybe. But I still caught it didn't I?"_ Richard smiled and rubbed Zubat between his oversized ears.

"Yes you did, and it was very impressive. But maybe you should go hunting for smaller prey next time." He placed Zubat on his head and moved Treecko down onto his shoulder before turning to Jeffrey.

"Sorry about that. Now, shall we continue?" he asked. Jeffrey nodded and the two walked on down the path with Zubat and Treecko talking animatedly while perched on their trainer.

* * *

It was nine O'clock by the time the small group made their way through the doors of the Oldale town Pokemon centre. The sun was just setting behind the trees and the group cast long shadows that streaked the ground. Once inside, Jeffrey checked in at the front desk as he had stayed at the Pokemon centre the previous night on his journey to Littleroot town. Richard on the other hand had to book a room on the ground floor. He wasn't surprised at the Nurse Joy at the desk being almost identical to the one he had met during his final exam. After all, most people knew that all the Pokemon Centres in the world were run by sisters from a large family of Pokemon practicioners. Richard bid Jeffrey goodnight before going to look along the corridor for his room. He found it easily and threw his bag down onto the plastic chair in the corner of the room. He dropped onto the bed and removed his shoes before turning to his two Pokemon. Zubat was now perched on the edge of the bed and Treecko was curled up in the centre of the duvet.

"Ok guys. I'm going down to the restaurant to get some dinner. You can come with if you want or you can go exploring on your own. I want you back by eleven either way." Treecko raised his head and made an impressive running jump off of the bed onto Richard's arm. The Wood Gecko quickly scaled the arm in order to rest on the boy's shoulder. Richard turned to Zubat who extended a wing.

"_I'm going out hunting. I didn't really get to eat today since someone let my lunch go."_ He squeaked. Richard shook his head and left the room. Once the boy was gone, Zubat fell off the bed, snapped both wings open and sailed out through the open window.

The sun was almost fully down now and to Zubat's large ears the air was alive with the throb and hum of the nighttime insects. Zubat glided through the air above Oldale revelling in the sensation of flying through the air of a foreign land. A new world of adventure and more importantly, insects. Zubat did a few loops in the air in order to gain some height and take the bugs that were now all around him by surprise. Whether it was the nature of Hoenn insects or the warm evening Zubat didn't know, but the air was far more populated that it had ever been back home in Orre and for a while the bat ate well. Then, spying an old oak tree in a back garden, Zubat dropped towards it, recognising it as a source of insects.

However, as he approached, a large crowd of flying ants launched simultaneously from the tree and momentarily blinded the bat's echolocation. Stunned, Zubat didn't see the Hoothoot perched on the branch until he crashed into it.

With an avian shriek, the Hoothoot plunged off of the branch and straight into Zubat. The stubby wings spread open and the bird ascended, wheeling round for another attack. Zubat was not well versed in the ability to speak Hoothoot but as far as he could make out, the bird was shouting "_Intruder!"_ over and over again. Zubat righted himself and tore at the owl, fangs bared and glistening with venom.

With speed that far outweighed it's shape, the Hoothoot descended, allowing Zubat to go over it's head. Then almost as suddenly, the Hoothoot rose and slammed it's entire body into Zubat's back, causing the poison Pokemon to scream in pain. As Zubat circled around again, trying to shrug off the pain, the Hoothoot's eyes glowed bright blue. A hypnosis attack.

It was late evening though. The time when Zubat are most active. This, coupled with the adrenaline of battle served to let Zubat resist the attack and slam the streamlined thin edge of his wing into the bird's breastbone.

Thoroughly Astonished, the bird began to fall as it stopped flapping it's wings in shock. Pressing the advantage, Zubat wheeled and bore down on his foe trying again to connect with a Leech Life. But, before Zubat could connect, the Hoothoot flipped right way up again and it's short pointed beak tore into Zubat's wing membrane. Purple blood spurted from the wound and Zubat began flailing as, with one wing out of commission, he began to fall to earth. His other wing swung round and managed to slug the Hoothoot in the jaw purely by chance. The Hoothoot was not perturbed and slammed it's foot into Zubat's back forcing him to fall even faster.

Zubat hit the ground with bone shattering speed. His wings had slowed his fall slightly but he was still too injured to resist the Hoothoot landing on him and starting to tear at his head with its beak. Darkness started to engulf his vision and repeated words "_Intruder!" _and "_Die!"_ filled his ears. Just before he blacked out though, Zubat could have sworn he heard another voice over the top of the Hoothoot's.

"_Ember!"_ A jet of fire tore through the dark evening and slammed into the Hoothoot, throwing it off Zubat and setting many of it's feathers alight. The Hoothoot screamed and rolled in the dust in order to extinguish the flames before taking into the sky back towards it's tree as fast as it's tiny wings could take it.

"Thanks Torchic." Jeffrey said returning Torchic to his Pokeball. He'd broken his promise to himself and released Torchic from his Pokeball almost as soon as he'd gotten into his room back at the Pokemon centre. The excitement of a new Pokemon was too much for the boy to bear. Neither of the two had been tired or hungry so they had elected to explore the town. Jeffrey had been sitting on a wall trying to teach Torchic the basics of ember projection when he had witnessed the Zubat/Hoothoot dogfight. Jeffrey had run to Zubat's aid and managed to drive the Hoothoot off just in time it appeared.

Jeffrey stooped over the bleeding bat and carefully picked him up. The wounds were many, but shallow. The bat was breathing weakly but his pulse was strong. With a remorseful look at the tiny Pokemon, Jeffrey began running back towards the Pokemon centre.

* * *

And there we have the end of Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back soon for Chapter 4. Don't forget to read, review, submit an OT or check out the other stories in the NSEW saga. Until next time.


	4. A Friend in Need

BOO! Did I scare you? I'm not surprised after how long I've been absent from this story. But never fear, I am back! However, before we begin, notifications and thank yous need to be dispensed.

1. A huge thank you to the Warrior of Many Faces. Seriously, if it weren't for your reviews and encouragement, I'd never have come back to this so you have my sincere thanks.

2. EDIT: Apparently, according to new rules, I can't ask for OCs anymore, so I won't be doing so. Sorry if you were intending to send in a Trainer, but that's just how it goes I'm afraid.

* * *

Chapter 4: A friend in need.

* * *

Disclaimer: Pokemon and all related characters are owned by Nintendo. Jeffrey is owned by Blake Wilson and I own Richard and any other original characters.

* * *

Jeffrey pounded on the door of Richard's room so hard that the door gave in a little under the force. Torchic sat nervously on his shoulder and helped in it's own little way by pecking on the door. After about a minute, Richard opened the door and looked out groggily whilst Treecko peered out from behind his trainer's legs. Richard was wearing his jeans and shirt from the previous day, but they had the look of clothing that had been thrown on in a hurry. The boy's face brightened slightly when he realised that it was Jeffrey in front of him but it fell when he looked at his wristwatch.

"What the hell? It's half past one, man!" Richard groaned, rubbing a hand across his face.

"It's Zubat." Jeffrey said simply and Richard's face instantly transformed from an expression of sleepy annoyance to one of alert concern. "There was an…accident." Richard paused just long enough to grab his room keys from the counter by the door before he was out and running after Jeffrey towards the infirmary.

"_Hey! Wait up!" _Treecko shouted, sprinting along the hallway after the two and scrambling up Richard's back as the two ran down the stairs. At the bottom, the double doors leading to the medical wing of the Pokemon centre swished open and Jeffrey led Richard in silence to a pristine white hospital bed at the end of the room. Nurse Joy and a Blissey were already standing over the bed as the two trainers approached. Joy looked up at their arrival and smiled gingerly at Richard.

"He's stable." she said quietly and moved out of the way to adjust an IV drip, allowing Richard to see Zubat for the first time. The bat was laying on his back staring blankly up at the ceiling. Multiple bandages wound around his wings, in some cases obscuring the wing completely. Purple blood was already seeping through a particularly large dressing placed in the centre of his left wing. A trio of slashes scored through his torso were slowly starting to close as the nurse's assistant Blissey gently applied some more healing salve to the wounds. Blood from already closed wounds had seeped into the fur on Zubat's head, staining the area a sickly greyish-black. But the worst injury that Richard could see was to the bat Pokemon's right foot. It was completely mangled and turned in on itself at the most unnatural angle Richard had ever seen. Almost involuntarily, Richard reached out a hand to stroke Zubat, to comfort his starter through the pain. But as he did so, Nurse Joy quickly slapped it away.

"If you touch it, it'll only make it worse. That leg will take enough time to heal as it is. But all things considered," she said, taking her surgical gloves off and dropping them in a bin. "he was very lucky. From what your friend tells me, the Hoothoot that attacked him could easily have killed him."

"Is he going to be O.k?" Richard asked slumping into a chair by the bed. Blissey trotted back from the water cooler in the corner of the room and handed Richard a plastic cup of water which he downed in one gulp.

"He should be fine." Nurse Joy replied. "I've put him on Blissey's strongest Softboiled medication and everything bar his leg should be healed by the morning. You can take him away tomorrow but he can't put any weight on that leg for at least a week and no battling for a few days. He's a fast healer." The pink-haired woman turned to leave and Blissey waddled up to her side. "You can stay down here with him if you want but I'm afraid your friend will have to leave."

"That's fine." Jeffrey replied as he walked after the Nurse. When he reached the doors, Richard looked up from his defeated posture.

"Hey, Jeffrey. Thanks." he smiled. For a second, Jeffrey was shocked at the difference between the enthusiastic Trainer that he had met that morning and this boy, reduced to a grieving wreck. He realised that Richard was agonising over his inability to help Zubat or even to protect him from the attacker that had caused this, but Jeffrey also knew that nothing he could say would make Richard feel any better.

"No worries." he smiled back. Torchic chirruped and hopped up and down on his shoulder. With a small wave, Jeffrey left the infirmary and walked back up the stairs to his room. He thought he was going to stay awake for hours with concern over his new found friend, but the adrenaline of the evening's events had drained away over the last few hours and he fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Torchic hopped off his trainer's shoulder and onto the dresser where he flopped down, curled his head into his body and fell asleep as well.

***

As Richard returned from the water cooler with another cup of water, Treecko sat down slowly on the edge of the bed and placed a paw on Richard's arm.

"_Hey, cheer up." _Treecko said reassuringly. "_I've only known Zubat for a few hours but even I can tell that he's going to be back chasing bugs in no time."_

Richard chuckled softly and rubbed Treecko between his eye-ridges. The Grass Pokemon purred quietly and curled up, wrapping his tail around himself.

"_Well, say Hi to Zubat for me if he wakes up, but I'm gonna catch up on my beauty sleep." _Treecko yawned as he closed his eyes..

"_And trust me, you really need it." _A tiny voice piped up. Zubat forced his mouth into a wry smile as Richard shot to his feet. As his trainer bent over him, Zubat whistled between his teeth in surprise.

"_And I thought I looked like crap. Relax, will you? You heard the Nurse, I'll be fine. Just let me get some shut eye before the morning."_ Richard nodded before he frowned.

"Wait, you were awake for that?" he asked semi-accusingly, too relieved over Zubat's recovery to be genuinely angry.

"_Maybe a little." _Zubat admitted, "_Now go away. Some of us need to recover you know." _And with that, Zubat lay back and refused to speak any more. Shaking his head at his Pokemon's behaviour, Richard returned to his chair, lay his head on his chest and tried to go to sleep himself.

* * *

Ten O'Clock the next morning found Jeffrey pacing anxiously outside the Pokemon centre. Upon visiting the reception desk when he woke up, Jeffrey was pleased to be informed that the majority of Zubat's injuries had healed to the Nurse's satisfaction and that Richard would be joining him shortly so that the two of them could continue on to Petalburg city.

That was 45 minutes ago. Now Jeffrey was getting really bored of waiting. He casually threw a rock from hand to hand as Torchic scratched in the dirt at his feet. The Chick Pokemon was looking for large stones to sharpen his claws on but so far all his scrounging had unearthed was three cigarette butts and half an Oran Berry that was so mouldy that Jeffrey had thrown it in the nearest bin before Torchic could swallow it.

The double doors of the Pokemon Centre swished open again and Richard walked through, a huge smile on his face. Treecko was sitting on his shoulder again, swinging his legs into Richard's backpack strap. Zubat was nowhere to be seen but his Pokeball was clearly visible on Richard's belt.

"He can't ride with his busted leg just yet." Richard smiled, gesturing towards the Pokeball. "I'll let him out when we stop for the night."

"Which hopefully will by at my place." Jeffrey sighed, looking at his watch and frowning when he saw the time. "Hopefully."

"Well, I'm ready to go now." Richard clapped his hands enthusiastically and started walking towards the exit to town. As Jeffrey turned to follow him, something small, blue and travelling very, _very_, fast sprinted straight into Torchic's back, barrelling him to the floor.

"_Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyy!"_ it screamed, although the word was muffled as the blue and red rolling blur tumbled across the courtyard. Richard stopped in surprise and stared as Treecko leapt off his shoulder and into the fray. The multicoloured blur bounced a few more times before it came to a halt. When the motion stopped, both Richard and Jeffrey could see that intruder into their midst was a Mudkip. As it paused to allow Torchic to scramble to it's feet, the fire bird spun and leapt onto Mudkip's head, playfully batting at it with his wings. Treecko disengaged himself from the tussling duo and ran over to Richard.

"_It's Mudkip! The third Pokemon from Elm's lab." _Treecko called, grinning broadly. _"It's our little sister!" _Richard nodded in understanding as Treecko ran back towards his faux siblings and grabbed Torchic around the waist and threw it to the ground before Mudkip slammed into him.

"Hey! Mudkip! Stop that!" Someone called from across the square. The two boys turned to face the source of the voice.

The girl standing across from them was obviously a Pokemon trainer, even if she hadn't identified her Mudkip, which was now being held in a headlock by Treecko. Her brown hair fell to just below her shoulder blades and a loose belt was holding her jeans up. She was wearing a pair of sturdy shoes and a light grey jacket over her purple striped T-shirt. Her attire clearly suggested someone who expected to spend a lot of time on the road and yet didn't want to sacrifice the essence of stylishness that seemed to be present in all women. She jogged over to them and held out her hand, grabbing each of theirs in turn and shaking them vigorously.

"Hiya! I'm Jo, short for Josie if you _must_ know. And you…" she paused, holding up her fingers in a wait-a-minute gesture before rummaging in her pockets. Eventually, she pulled out two slim red machines. "need these. Your Pokedexes. Professor Birch forgot to hand them over before you left yesterday and when he found out I was passing through this way, he asked me to drop them off." She smiled broadly before yelling at her Mudkip, who was still brawling with Treecko and Torchic.

"Mudkip, come here girl!" she called. Mudkip managed to extricate herself from her brothers and trotted over to Jo. The female trainer bent down and picked Mudkip up in her arms, cradling the water Pokemon like a newborn. Then she beamed at the two boys.

"So, shall we go? Petalburg City awaits!" As she wandered off down the path, she stopped in confusion when she realised that Richard and Jeffrey weren't following her. "What's the problem?" she asked.

"Umm…you're coming with us?" Richard asked confused.

"What, you can't expect a helpless little girl like me to go wandering through this wild, inhospitable region alone?" She cried, throwing a hand to her forehead dramatically. Jeffrey looked on nonplussed.

"That was the general idea yes." he replied, deadpan. As he spoke, Torchic ran up and sunk his claws into the back of his trainer's leg. Jeffrey cried out in pain and bent down clutching his leg, whereupon Torchic leapt onto his shoulder. The chick Pokemon chirped excitedly.

"_Hey, don't be like that." _he squeaked. "_We gotta take our little sis with us! She's so much fun!" _Jeffrey groaned softly as he realised that this argument wasn't one that he could win.

"_Yeah, we already got split up when you guys picked us up from the lab. This reunion has got to be a…sign, or something." _Treecko added, leaping onto Richard's backpack and hanging there.

"Then it's settled." Jo grinned, turning on her heel. "She we get going?" And with the, she set off down the path at a brisk march. Shrugging at each other, Richard and Jeffrey headed after her.

* * *

*Fanfare* And there we go, long time in the making wasn't it? Stayed tuned for Chapter 5 in the (hopefully) near future. Don't forget to leave a review using the button below, as this chapter as shown, they do work. See you all next time.


End file.
